Travel to Mist
by Blackwolf0603
Summary: Sakura is accepted into the transfer program between Leaf and Mist to strengthen their alliance, what kind of adventures will she face as she becomes a Kirigakure shinobi and befriends a boy with a heart as pure as snow? AU (- THIS STORY IS A GIFT FOR Anime14z! -)
1. The offer

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

8 year old orphan Sakura Haruno stood in front of the desk where the 3rd Hokage sat along with the Council and Chunin by his side,

"Sakura Haruno, with the grades you have in the Academy, you are eligible to participate in a transfer program to Kirigakure in order to strengthen our alliance, do you accept?" The 3rd Hokage spoke,

"It sounds interesting, but..I don't know" Sakura spoke in an unsure response,

_'I have learnt about the Mist Village in class and from books and I want to see it, but I just made friends with Ino-chan, but I also want to get away from those bullies...I'm sorry, Ino-chan' _Sakura thought

"I-I accept" Sakura said as the Hokage and Council nodded,

"You will have tomorrow to say goodbye to your classmates, then at 4pm we will have ANBU come pick you up and escort you to the border of Kirigakure, and the ANBU will have a sealing scroll to carry your belongings, you may return home" The Councilmen said, Sakura nodded and bowed before walking out the door, and heading home down the streets of her hometown.

* * *

Sakura unlocked to the door to her apartment which was located a floor above where her classmate Naruto lived, the pink haired girl stepped inside the room of her 1 bedroom apartment that was provided by Konoha after her parents died when Sakura was 5 years old,

Sakura walked into the kitchen and heated up water as she pulled out instant ramen from her cabinet and after a few minutes pouring the hot water into the cup, making sure not to burn herself, the 8 year old slurped the noodles and liquid and threw the cup in the trash along with the wooden chopsticks,

Sakura then walked into her neatly organized room and looked around before walking over to her closet and pulling out a backpack, a 2 large duffle bags and a suitcase, Sakura zipped open the top of the suitcase and placed inside her clothes, bathroom supplies, sleeping cloths (blanket, pillow, etc.), and other items in her room.

Sakura then went over to her refrigerator and cabinets to clear out the food,

_'Naruto might want the ramen and some other food, I think I will go get him and keep some food for tomorrow' _ Sakura thought walking out the door and down the stairs to apartment 304, Sakura then knocked on her classmate's door and the door opened to reveal her blonde haired friend,

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled hugging the pink haired girl,

"Hey Naruto, I was wondering if you want any ramen cups or food from my refrigerator?" Sakura asked

"Sure! But why Sakura-chan? Don't you need it?" Naruto asked

"Well...I have been accepted to go to Kirigakure as a transfer program, so I'll be gone, I am sorry Naruto" Sakura said sadly as Naruto started to get pricks of tears in his eyes, he grabbed onto the cherry blossom once more,

"No Sakura-chan! Your my only friend in the academy! Don't go!" Naruto cried,

"I'm sorry Naruto, But I have already said yes, but let's spend tonight and tomorrow together, I leave at 4pm" Sakura said shakely, because frankly, Naruto's crying made Sakura want to cry too.

* * *

"Thank you Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a last few sniffles as he carried a box of food to his apartment with Sakura by his side, the two spent the night together and it was 10pm now, Sakura stood by the opened door as Naruto put the box down on the table and went back to the door to give his best friend one last hug,

"Ok, good night Sakura-chan, I'll see you tomorrow" the blonde Uzumaki said sadly as Sakura waved and quickly ran down the hall and up the stairs to hide her tears.

* * *

Sakura packed the last of her items in a large sidebag (like the ones for school) so far she put in the few books she owned, practice kunai and shuriken, a few scrolls, and a family photo album,

all her 4 bags were placed in the living room area near the door, with all the portable items packed, the apartment looked as if you were just moving inside,

meanwhile, Sakura was tired from today with the Academy, the Hokage's offer and packing,

Sakura collapsed on her bed tired, she pulled the covers over her small frame, and these covers, blanket and pillow was barrowed from Naruto since she had to pack her own bed supplies, and she would have to wake up early in the morning to return them.

Sakura laid in bed restless, she couldn't sleep knowing tomorrow she would have to say goodbye to her teacher and friends and she would also be sleeping in a different bed and a different village the next night,

after staying awake for a long time, sleep caught up to Sakura, she lazily closed her eyes as the darkness took over.


	2. Traveling to Mist

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

"Ok everyone! Today is Sakura's last day here! So to say goodbye we will take this last hour of Academy time, and here are some cookies!" Iruka said the announcement holding up a tray of baked cookies, Sakura was his best student with test and even beat Sasuke's average on written test, along with being she was one of the smartest children in the class,

Iruka let Sakura pick the first cookie, which was chocolate chip, and went from table to table.

Sakura spent most of her time with Ino and Naruto, and when Iruka said everyone could go outside Naruto was kept back by Iruka, but Ino and Sakura decided to relax on a hill and gaze up at the clouds like Shikamaru who was near them, asleep under a tree,

"Wow Sakura-chan your lucky, I heard Mist is very beautiful, but...I don't want you to go, I'll miss you" Ino said as she looked at the flower she twirled in her hand,

"I know Ino-chan, I'm sorry" Sakura said apologetically bowing down her head,

Ino then stuck the flower in her friend's pink hair, the stem stuck under the red ribbon Ino gave to Sakura a while ago,

"Don't be so bummed out Sakura-chan! I'll be at the gates to say goodbye and we will see eachother sometime after" Ino said

"I guess, I mean I'll see if I can send letters" Sakura said

"Yeah, you'll see!" Ino shouted as Sakura gave a timid laugh, the two then laid back onto the grass.

* * *

Sakura was ready to get going, a coat around her body and a bag on her back, and it was 3:52pm, so the ANBU would be here any moment,

with the few last moments, Sakura went around the apartment, she let her fingers run lightly across the walls as she walked, and then afterwards walked outside of the apartment to look at the view from her apartment, after a few minutes the sound of clanking was heard a few feat away to see a lone ANBU.

"Are you ready?" the ANBU asked as Sakura nodded, Sakura could tell the ANBU was a man from his voice, he wore the usual ANBU uniform with a cloak on top, his long black hair was tied back, he wore his headband on the side of his head and wore a weasel mask, (Guess who~)

the ANBU then pulled out a scroll from his pouch,

"Where are your luggage?" he asked,

"Oh! It's in here" Sakura said as she walked back into her vacant apartment and pulled out the giant suitcase, but as she went back and threw the backpack over her shoulder, she looked back down to see the other 2 duffle bags being carried out by the ANBU and put onto the scroll, Sakura then walked out and placed the backpack with the rest of her belongings.

"Um, thank you ANBU-san for helping me with my things" Sakura said timidly,

the ANBU just nodded and did a series of handsigns before placing his hand on the ground, there was a "puff" and as the smoke disappeared the bags were gone, the ANBU then rolled the scroll and placed it back into his pouch,

"Are you ready to go?" the elusive ninja asked the pink haired girl,

"Yes, I am" Sakura answered, the ANBU nodded and motioned for Sakura to follow him.

* * *

"So I guess this is goodbye, Sakura-chan" Naruto said sadly with tears nearly pouring out of his eyes,

"Yeah.." Sakura said as the two hugged, after about 10 seconds they separated and Ino came up to Sakura,

"Um..This is for you" Ino said taking a box out of her pocket to present, Sakura took the box and opened it to see a locket, Sakura opened the locket to see one side with a picture of the two and the other side had a cosmos flower petal and a cherry blossom petal imbedded in clear glue,

"Ino, thank you" Sakura said putting the locket in the box in her bag, then hugging her friend.

"It's time to go if we want to be at the border on time" The ANBU said,

"Ok" Sakura said before saying goodbye to Ino's parents,

coming over to the black-haired ANBU, he knelt down which Sakura took as a motion to climb on his back,

"We will be traveling at a fast speed so this is the best option" the ANBU said as he then sprinted past the gates and jumped into the trees as Sakura gasped,

"How long will it take to get there?" Sakura asked

"About 3 hours, but we will take a break about halfway" The ANBU answered, Sakura nodded and out of boredom soon fell asleep.

* * *

"Sakura, wake up" the ANBU said, fluttering her eyes open, the first thing the cherry blossom saw was the mask of the ANBU escorting her,

"W-Where are we?" Sakura asked rubbing her eyelids,

"In a town in Leaf, we are taking a break then we have an hour to go" the ANBU answered as he knelt and Sakura climbed off his back,

"What would you like as a snack?" The ANBU asked

"Um, dango and some tea would be good" Sakura said

"Alright" the ANBU answered, as he then lifted up his mask to reveal his face and placed it in his pouch.

Sakura was in shock, she had never known someone so young was already ANBU level, furthermore, she felt as if she had seen a picture of this ANBU before,

the two sat down at a tea shop as the unknown ANBU ordered,

_'Where have I seen him before?, think Sakura! Think!' _Sakura thought to herself,

she thought back to the open house before entering the academy, he was with Sasuke!, and Sasuke always had bragged about his older brother in class, maybe this was him!,

"Are you..Itachi Uchiha?" Sakura asked, the ninja sitting next to her gave a small but kind smile and answered

"Yes I am, How did you know?"

"Sasuke is always talking about you in class, and I saw you at the Academy open house" Sakura answered,

then a woman came out with a tray of two sets of tea and dango, the two gave their thanks and enjoyed their snacks.

"Have you ever been to Mist?" Sakura asked

"Once for a mission" Itachi answered

"What's it like?" Sakura then asked

"I have never been inside the village but the area has a cool temperature and the air is foggy most of the time" Itachi said calmly

"Oh right, I read about the village in books" Sakura commented as she then sipped the last of her tea and her dango was already eaten as well as Itachi's food,

Itachi paid for the food then looked up at the sky as he put on his mask,

"We need to get going, we already used up enough time" Itachi said, Sakura nodded as she then got onto Itachi's back once more.

* * *

"How much longer~" Sakura asked as she sighed

"We will be at the border in 10 minutes" Itachi answered

"Ok!" Sakura cheered,

"I hope everyone will like me there" Sakura mumbled

"You'll do fine, from what Sasuke says, you have the best test scores in your class" Itachi complimented

"Thanks, but I mean the people" Sakura said

"I have heard they are pretty nice people" Itachi said which lightened Sakura up a bit, the rest of the trip the two remained in silence.

* * *

Itachi jumped to the ground as he told Sakura to climb off his back, she obeyed,

"Come out Mist ninja, I know your there" Itachi shouted,

2 mist ninja and a young girl came out from behind the trees, one with blue hair and the other with white hair and the girl with dark purple hair,

"I'm surprised you sensed us leaf ninja!" the one with the blue hair shouted then asked

"Do you have the student?"

"She is right here as you can see!" Itachi answered motioning to Sakura at his side,

"Ours are right here too, let the two walk over the border since only they have access to cross" the same Mist ninja said again, Itachi nodded as he pulled out the scroll with Sakura's items to the cherry blossom, then motioned her to go forward,

Sakura nodded and quietly said "Goodbye",

the two students passed eachother without no eye contact, and successfully crossed onto eachother villages' borders,

"Hello, what's your name~?" The white haired ninja asked

"Um I'm Sakura, Sakura Haruno" Sakura said

"Sakura huh? It's cute! I'm Mangestu and this is-"

"I can introduce myself!" the blue haired man said as he glared at Mangestu, the man relaxed and turned his attention back to the pink haired girl,

"I am Ao, it's nice to meet you Sakura"

"It's nice to meet you too! Mangestu, Ao" Sakura said bowing

"Ok! Let's go home~!" Mangestu cheered as he held Sakura's hand,

_'They don't seem too bad, your right Itachi, I'll do fine'_ Sakura thought.


	3. the Hozuki brothers

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

**Sakura- 8**

**Suigestu- 9**

**Mangestu- 13**

**Haku-** 8

* * *

"Well Sakura, here is your new home" Mangestu said,

Sakura gasped at the sight of the village she would now live in; The air was cool but lightly humid, the architecture of the village looked like small mountains with trees of green, and the smoky mist made it look like the village was in the clouds,

"Wow.." was the only thing Sakura could say at the breathtaking sight ,

"Amazing, am I right?" Mangestu said with a grin as Sakura nodded,

"We can show Sakura the village later, let's go to the Mizukage's office and check her in so she can rest" Ao said as the 3 traveled through the gates and to the Mizukage's office.

* * *

"Lady Mizukage, here is the transfer from Konoha, Sakura Haruno" Ao introduced,

"I see, hello Sakura I am the 5th Mizukage Mei Terumi, and welcome to Kirigakure, so how's your first impression?" The 5th Mizukage asked with a gentle smile,

"Oh! I love the village already! It's _so_ beautiful!" Sakura said cheerfully,

"All right let's get you checked into the system so you can be a citizen and attend the academy, then Mangestu will take you to your new home" the Mizukage said sweetly,

"Ok Mizukage-sama!" Sakura said.

"Ao, give me her profile"

"Right away my lady!".

* * *

"So how does the village look to you Sakura?" Mangestu asked

"I really love it!" Sakura said with a smile,

"I need to go get my little brother from my place for help, he's a year older than you" Mangestu said as Sakura nodded.

After a few minutes of talking the two reached the Hozuki manor, and Mangestu told Sakura to stay outside,

Sakura twirled around the street on a leaf, the area wasn't too busy with people since it on a street where a clan manor resided,

Sakura twirled on another leaf as she giggled and traveled backwards, and about to fall back she fell pressure on he back and when she got back her balance she looked behind her to see a black haired girl, no boy!,

_'They look like a girl but their clothes look like it's for a boy, I don't know which one they are!'_

"I- um thank you uh.." Sakura mumbled as she blushed out of embarrassment,

"Haku, my name is Haku" the boy answered with a gentle smile,

_'Oh, so it is a boy'_

"I haven't seen you here, are you new or something?" Haku asked tilting his head,

"Um yes, I am new, my name is Sakura" Sakura said

"It's nice to meet you Sakura, oh! I have to get back! I'll see you around Sakura" Haku said running off, just in time for Mangestu to come out with his brother.

* * *

"Sakura, this is my brother Suigestu" Mangestu said introducing his brother, who was basically a copy of Mangestu; Same hair color, eye color, same sharp looking teeth, the only difference was Mangestu wore a headband around his forehead,

"Hey Sakura, so you like Kirigakure so far? How long have you be-" Suigestu was cut off his brother who punched him,

"Idiot she just got here!" Mangestu explained

"Well excuse me! I didn't know!" Suigestu yelled

"Hey guys no fighting!" Sakura said

"Oh no, don't worry we were just messing around Sakura" Mangestu said as he rubbed the back of his head,

"Ok, so where are we going?" Sakura asked

"Well to your apartment of course, let's go!" Mangestu asked and he dragged Sakura and his brother by their hand to the apartment.

* * *

"Well this is it" Mangestu said pulling out the key from his pouch and unlocking the door,

inside the walls were a light aquamarine color, there was already a couch, a tv, and the kitchen already had a table to fit 4 people, and in the bedroom the bed was already made with extra sheets and blankets in her closet which was almost 2 times the size in Konoha, a single bathroom and also a storage cabinet was also included,

"So let's take out your belongings and leave them here, it's only about 7:30pm, we can go look around and go shopping, unless your tired" Mangestu said

"No I'm not tired, and here is the scroll" Sakura said as she then took out the sealing scroll and handed it Mangestu,

Mangestu did 1 sign and Sakura's belonging appeared in a puff of smoke.

"This is it? It's not that much" Suigestu said as he took the two duffle bags and Mangestu with the suitcase leaving Sakura with only her bag,

"Well my parents died when I was 5, the Hokage moved me to a new place and it was small and the furniture came with the place" Sakura explained

"Oh I see" Suigestu said as he put down the bags,

"So, who wants dinner?" Mangestu said as the 3 walked out the bedroom,

"Me!" Suigestu said jumping with joy

"Sakura?" Mangestu asked after rolling his eyes at his younger brother's childish actions,

"I could use some, the person escorting me only got me dango and tea" Sakura said

"Seems like the leaf doesn't takes care of you too well" Suigestu said

"Suigestu.." Mangestu growled

"Oh it's ok Mangestu-san" Sakura said before any conflict were to happen between the brothers,

"Hey no '-san', you call me 'nii-san' ok?, plus I've always wanted a little sister, it's a lot better than this twirp" Mangestu said pointing at Suigestu who glared at the elder Hozuki brother,

"Hey! What about me?!" Suigestu yelled as his eye twitched

"Hahaha I'm just kidding! I love you both!" Mangestu said ruffling his brother and Sakura's hair,

"Ok, let's go out to eat!" Mangestu said as Sakura grabbed onto Mangestu's hand, Mangestu looked down at Sakura to see her smiling, the elder Hozuki lightly tightened his grip on Sakura's hand,

He was happy to have a little sister.

* * *

"So there is a lot of options we could go to eat some sushi, also if you want to try some Kirigakure food, or even a ramen stand" Mangestu explained

Ramen. That food reminded Sakura of Naruto, it reminded her of Konoha, she really wanted to get her mind off of thinking about her missed friends,

"I think I'll try some food from Kirigakure" Sakura decided as Suigestu's eyes brightened up,

"Oh I know the perfect place for that! Their frozen yogurt is_ so good_ " Suigestu cheered as he ran towards the restaurant, and frankly looking energized enough to run laps around the village,

"We better catch up, let's go!" Mangestu said as he grabbed Sakura's hand and ran to the restaurant hi little brother stood next to.

* * *

"Ok, are you ready to order?" the waitress asked as she took out her writing pad and pen from her apron,

"I'll have sautéed cuttlefish with vegetables and my brother who will be back in a moment will have breaded shrimp with yogurt dip, and you Sakura?"

"I'll have...hmmm..miso souba" Sakura said

"Ok, anything else?" the waitress asked

"Oh, bring out a, oh!, Sakura do you want to try some frozen yogurt?" Mangestu asked

"No, I think this will be enough" Sakura replied

"Ok, bring one frozen yogurt after the meal" Mangestu said

"Alright sir, I'll bring out your meals when they are ready" the waitress said as she then walked into the kitchen,

"Hey guys! So Mangestu what did you order me?" Suigestu asked coming over to the table and sitting down,

"The usual for you"

"Yes!".

* * *

"I love this stuff!" Suigestu cheered as he took a bite on his food,

"Really?, because I didn't notice you order the exact meal every time we come here" Mangestu said sarcastically, he then turned his attention to the cherry blossom sitting across from him,

"Anyways, do you like your food Sakura?"

"Oh yes!, it's very tasty" Sakura said then taking the noodles into her mouth, Mangestu grinned as he took another bite of his cuttlefish.

* * *

"Well I am stuffed!" Suigestu commented

"yeah I liked the food" Sakura said

"Well it's 8:41pm, do you want to go shop Sakura?" Mangestu asked

"Sure!" Sakura said,

"Alright, let's go".

* * *

"Ok, since the Mizukage gave me money for Sakura, we can go get some things for her" Mangestu said pulling out a small pouch of money,

"Let's first go get some food first!" Mangestu said as the other 2 followed his lead.

"Ok, do you think we have everything?" Mangestu asked

"Um, I think so" Sakura said

"Ok, Suigestu stay with her while I go pay for this" Mangestu ordered as Suigestu nodded and gave a toothy grin.

"So Sakura, you think you are going to the academy tomorrow?" Suigestu asked in curiosity,

"I don't know actually, probably though" Sakura answered

"I really want you to come, and I hope we get the same class" Suigestu said

"Yeah me too, you know in Konoha I was sometimes afraid to go to the academy" Sakura said timidly laughing,

"Why? Were the teachers mean or something?"

"Oh, I was bullied a lot, they threw stones at me and made fun of my forehead" Sakura answered

"Tch! I would have beat them into a pulp! Plus, your very cute" Suigestu said giving a rare genuine smile,

"Uh! Um thanks Suigestu" Sakura said as she lightly blushed

"Hey, anyone gives you trouble at the academy, you come get me, ok?" Suigestu said

"Right" Sakura said smiling,

"Ok, let's go look for some other things, we are done in the food department" Mangestu said as he walked over with a couple bags of food,

"Ok!" the two children cheered.

* * *

"Ok, we have got everything, now all we need is academy supplies, that storage space in your apartment is used to keep ninja supplies" Mangestu said

"Really? In Konoha we just keep our supplies all in our pouches" Sakura said

"Well welcome to Kirigakure cherry blossom" Suigestu said grinning,

"Anyways let's grab the supplies and head to Sakura's place, it's getting late" Mangestu said

"Ok, first we should get kunai and shuriken!" Suigestu cheered as he dragged Sakura with him, Mangestu then sighed and walked to wherever his little brother dragged Sakura off to.

"I think I like this one" Sakura said as she pointed at a kunai with sharp edges along the side of the blade,

"This one too Sakura, we also need standard" Suigestu said lifting up a kunai and twirling it around his finger,

"You really run fast Suigestu, try going slower next time" Mangestu said as he then went up to the counter

"I will get 60 each for these 2 designs and also 3 packs of senbon" Mangestu said to the blacksmith, the blacksmith nodded and gave the elder Hozuki brother what he needed, Mangestu paid with the money for Sakura given by the Mizukage,

"Ok, let's go get the books for class" Mangestu said

"And he is the boring part of this shopping trip" Suigestu commented as the three walked over to that section.

* * *

"It seems you Sakura, had a 5 on written tests, so studying I think won't be a problem" Mangestu read aloud as he scanned through her data, Suigestu's jaw dropped

"What~?! I have a 3.5 and your a year younger than me!" he yelled,

"Then learn something from Sakura, dummy" Mangestu said with a smirk,

"I hate you.." Suigestu growled

"Love you too little brother" Mangestu replied which only made Suigestu more angry,

"Hey now, let's just get the books and go home" Sakura said, trying to calm down the two yet again,

"Fine" Suigestu gritted out through his sharp teeth.

* * *

"Ok, Sakura let's prepare your academy supplies then get to bed, the academy starts 8:45am, I'll then bring over your bag Suigestu, so you can stay over and show Sakura to the academy in the morning, Is that ok if Suigestu stays over Sakura?" Mangestu said

"Of course!" Sakura said then yawned,

"Ok, let's get this done" she then said as she along with the Hozuki brothers.

* * *

"I'm dead beat" Sakura said as she collapsed on her bed, already in her pajamas,

"You go ahead and try to sleep Sakura, I am going to get Suigestu's bag" Mangestu said walking to the door and out of the apartment,

Suigestu then walked over to Sakura and hovered over her, he then climbed to the other side of her bed to open the curtains to her small window,

"Hey Sakura, come see this" Suigestu said quietly (for once in his life :P)

"Hmmm?" Sakura mused as she looked out the window and saw the view, some lanterns down the road were being set up along with some stands being built,

"What's going on?" Sakura asked

"Well your just in time for Kirigakure's summer festival which is 3 days next week, we are off the academy on those 3 days too!" Suigestu explained

"Well I'm glad I came in time" Sakura said as she laid back down and yawned,

Suigestu was about to get off the bed but Sakura grabbed onto his shirt,

"No...stay.." Sakura mumbled loud enough for Sakura to hear,

"Um ok" Suigetsu said as he laid back down and fell asleep too.

* * *

Mangestu unlocked the door and walked into to see his brother was not on the couch, Mangestu only hoped he was not keeping Sakura up, the Mizukage gave the responsibility of being her guardian so he was responsible for anything bad happening to her,

Mangestu walked into Sakura's bedroom to see Sakura and Suigestu sleeping next to eachother, Suigestu actually unconsciously hugging the pink haired girl sleeping next to him, the sight was just adorable,

Mangestu then took out a camera and took a picture...

Hello this year's holiday card cover!


	4. The Academy

I** DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

"Hmm...Ahhh! Suigestu! Sakura! Let's go or we're going to be late!" Mangestu screamed as he jumped up from his slumber on the couch,

"Come on guys!",

"We're up! We're up! Geez!" Suigestu yelled as he got up from off the bed,

_'Are they always like this in the morning?' _Sakura thought as she also got off her bed,

"Well Sakura, the room is yours!" Suigestu said as he walked out of the room, shutting the door,

Sakura sighed and went over to an unpacked shopping bag a pulled out some clothes Mangestu and Suigestu insisted to get her, Sakura slipped on the clothes then walked out of her room just to run right into Suigestu,

"Wow, slow down" Suigestu said as he put his hands on her shoulders, then looked at the clothes he and his brother bought the cherry blossom yesterday,

"You look good~, looks like we chose the right color, now go do whatever else you need to do" Suigestu said stepping to the side to allow a blushing Sakura to enter the bathroom.

* * *

"Ok, let's go- wait!" Mangestu said as he then walked over to Sakura,

"Hmmm", Mangestu then pulled out from his pocket a sky blue ribbon, he then untied the red one in Sakura's hair and tied in the blue one,

"There, that looks better" Mangestu said grinning,

Sakura gave a smile then tied the red ribbon around her wrist,

"Ok, let's go!" Mangestu said

"But what about me academy stuff?" Sakura asked

Mangestu slipped off one of the bags off of his shoulder, and handed it to Sakura, Sakura took the backpack, it was actually a sidebag not a backpack, the bag was dark blue and had the Kirigakure symbol in silver, Sakura looked inside and saw everything already organized inside,

"Thank you Mange- I mean Nii-san" Sakura said as she remembered what Mangestu said to her yesterday.

* * *

"Go Sakura! Go!" Suigestu said rushing Sakura down the stairs of the building where her apartment was,

"I am going as fast as I can!" Sakura yelled looking back at her sharp toothed friend, but the stair bellow her had a puddle of water,

"Ahhh!" Sakura yelled, she put her arms over her face, ready to hit the ground, but there was no impact,

"It seems we are always meeting when I have to catch you" a smooth voice said

'_Wait, this is..' _Sakura thought,

"Wow! Nice one Haku!" Suigestu shouted,

Sakura opened her eyes, in front of her was Haku but he was a few feet away, then what was keeping her up? it was cold, Sakura looked around her, ice?,

Sakura then relaxed as the ice left the hold of her small body and dropped her on the ground lightly,

"Are you ok?" Haku asked, a worried expression visible in his eyes,

"Huh? Oh, yes! Thank you again" Sakura said

"Haku, what are you doing here?; your usually at the academy by now" Suigestu said

"Well, I did a lot of late training yesterday and woke up later than usual" Haku answered, then looked at the sidebag on Sakura,

"So Sakura, your going to the academy to- wait, your the transfer student aren't you?" Haku said

"Um yes, I am" Sakura said

"Hold on right there! How do you two know eachother?!" Suigestu yelled in confusion

"Oh right, I met Sakura yesterday when I caught her from tripping in front of your place actually Suigestu-san" Haku said

"Haku no formalities" Suigestu said sighing,

"Hehe sorry, Suigestu" Haku said timidly laughing, Suigestu sweatdropped,

"Whatever, let's just go" Suigestu said dragging both of his friends with him.

* * *

"Here is the office, we need to find your room number" Haku said as they entered the office, the three walked up the front desk,

"Good morning, is there anything I can help you with?" the lady at the desk asked

"Um, my name is Sakura Haruno, I'm new here" Sakura said timidly

"Oh! Your our new transfer student, your so cute~, your room is room #105, I assume Haku and Suigestu can show you to it",

"Yes, thank you!" Sakura yelled as the two boys behind her dragged her out the room, the lady at the desk laughed at the childrens' actions.

* * *

"Yes! Your in our class! Wait, what were your averages?!; It's an advanced class!" Suigestu asked

"Uh um, I guess I just got in your class" Sakura said

"Well I'm glad your with us" Haku said as they came to a door labeled "#105",

"Here it is!" Suigestu said opening the door.

* * *

Sakura stepped in the room to find everyone staring at her,

"Who's that?"

"What's with the pink hair?"

These were some of the whispers going around the room Sakura heard,

being in a new academy room for Sakura was exciting but also frightening since she had a lot of bad experiences during academy hours and even after then, Sakura stayed close to the two boys walking beside her,

the girls in the class wondered who this pink haired girl was but as soon as they saw Suigestu and Haku, all you could here were squeals, apparently the two were very popular, especially Suigestu,

"I really hate these fangirls, they are so annoying" Suigestu mumbled only loud enough for Haku and Sakura to hear,

"Oh well, there is nothing we can do" Haku said as the two sat down in the 2nd row of seats, next to eachother,

"Come sit with us Sakura" Haku said, patting on the bench seat where he wanted Sakura to sit,

Sakura nodded and sat down, just in time when the fangirls started to glare at Sakura in anger and nearly corner her to the back of her seat, this made Suigestu furious; Sakura's first day at the academy, only a few minutes here and the stupid fangirls were ganging up on her!,

"Hey! Leave her alone unless you want a beating! I'm not afraid to smack around a girl!" Suigestu yelled as he sent a murderous glare towards his fangirls,

out of fear the fangirls backed away as the teacher walked in the room,

"Alright! Everyone sit in their seats!" the teacher yelled, the students returned to their seats with some disappointment, fangirls were whining and boys were sighing in relief from the now peaceful lack of noise,

the teacher noticed a new face in his classroom, he gave a small smile and said

"Class, we have a new student!".

* * *

"Everyone, this is our transfer student from Konoha" the teacher told everyone as everyone started whispering negative and positive comments,

"You may introduce yourself" the teacher said,

Sakura was at the front of the classroom just the teacher standing next to her and everyone staring at her, Sakura bowed her head down and blushed in embarrassment, in the corner of her eyes she could see Haku and Suigestu giving her hints to lift up her head and smile, Sakura complied and starting speaking,

"M-My name is Sakura Haruno, I'm from Konoha but I came here yesterday", the teacher nodded and said

"Sakura, it's nice to meet you, my name is Shinji Kasame, but you may call me Shinji-sensei", Sakura nodded as Shinji-sensei said

"Go sit back down where you were before"

"Ok Shinji-sensei!" Sakura said, walking back to her seat.

"You may take out the board games before we switch classes in half an hour" Shinji-sensei said.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Sakura asked

"To sensory class, with Ao-sensei" Haku said as the three walked up the stairs to the third floor,

"Ao-sensei? I think he was the one who escorted me here with your brother Suigestu" Sakura said

"Really? interesting...Well I am so-so about Ao-sensei; he always punishes me!" Suigestu said

"Maybe because you always cause him trouble in class" Haku pointed out

"Well you can't blame me! His classes are so _boring_ with his 'back then' talk! He really needs to lighten up!" Suigestu exclaimed as Haku reached for the door knob of the classroom, he let Sakura go inside first,

"Just don't cause too much trouble in class today" Haku said quietly to Suigestu as the two went inside.

* * *

"Um A-Ao-sensei?" Sakura asked

"Oh Sakura, how has Mist been for you?" Ao asked

"Oh! I love it!" Sakura cheered

"Kirigakure is a lot more peaceful then before; back in my da-" Ao started

"Ao-sensei! Don't ruin Sakura's brain with your 'back in my day' speech!" Suigestu yelled from his seat,

"S-Suigestu!" Sakura said

"You brat! Don't you have any respect for your elders?!" Ao yelled

"Yes! But not for an old grandpa like you!" Suigestu shouted as he stuck out his tongue and pulled down his lower eye lid,

Ao's face flamed red in anger, he took a book at through the book at Suigestu but the book landed on an empty desk, Ao smirked,

"So I see you perfected that justu, Suigestu" Ao said, looking to the side of his head to see his student pointing a finger at the side of his head,

"Well what kind of Hozuki would I be if I couldn't preform my clans' justu" Suigestu said with a gin and backed away from Ao, running back to his seat for Haku to give him a entire speech on respecting the teachers,

_'That was so cool, he traveled behind Ao-sensei without a sound, all these Mist ninja are so skilled, I hope I can be like them'_ was what Sakura thought with amazement,

"Sakura, go sit between Suigestu and Haku" Ao ordered

"Yes Ao-sensei!" Sakura said going to her seat as the last of the students in the class got inside their classroom and to their seats,

"Mizuki and Izumi, pass out the books and turn to page 17" Ao told the class,

Mizuki and Izumi stood up and went to collect the books and pass them out, when Izumi came over to Sakura, Izumi literally almost dropped the book on Sakura's hand, when she then gave a book to Haku she lightly placed it in front of him,

Sakura then turned to page 17 to see a note:

Stay away from Haku, he's mine!

Sakura then looked at Izumi who glared at her from down the row, the cherry blossom then put the note in her pocket, this was usually how she dealt with bullies; just putting up with them and not telling anyone,

looks like on her first day, Sakura gained an enemy.

* * *

"Well that was a boring class!" Suigestu said

"You always say that" Haku said then turned to ask Sakura

"Anyways, what did you think Sakura?"

"Oh uh, I really liked sensory!" Sakura said

"Seriously?!" Suigestu yelled

"I'm glad you did" Haku said with a smile,

_'not really, I mean I liked it just not the note'_ Sakura thought as she reached into her pocket and felt the note as her eyes contained sadness, Haku saw this for he couldn't be fooled too easily, and he wanted to know what was wrong.

* * *

"So now is lunch, today we can go outside since it's early release because of a teacher meeting I think, then we do kunai practicing and go home" Haku explained to Sakura, Sakura nodded then looked around,

"Hey Haku, where is Suigestu?" Sakura asked

"Oh he's talking to a couple classmates over there" Haku said as he pointed to a picnic table,

"And also I wanted to ask you something" Haku then said

"Y-Yes?" Sakura asked shakely

"Did anything happen today? You looked a little sad in the hallway" Haku asked

"O-Oh uh!...I uh...It's probably because I'm missing Konoha" Sakura lied, she just couldn't bring herself to tell Haku about the note,

"Oh I see, well.." Haku took one of Sakura's hands in his before continuing

"I hope you feel more comfortable with the village soon, it must be hand in one day moving to different villages" Haku said with a gentle smile and relief filled the expression in his brown eyes, he then let go of Sakura's hand,

"Thank you, Haku" Sakura said

"Now you should eat your lunch before time is up"

"Oh right!".

* * *

"So here is where we train with kunai and shuriken and also senbon" Haku said as he opened the door to the 4th floor and let Sakura and Suigestu enter the room.

"Some of us train with weapons while others train in Taijustu with the dummies...I'm going to also do some Taijustu, see ya!" Suigestu said, running off to the last spot of the dummies to train.

"Come on Sakura" Haku said dragging the pink haired child to the 2 farthest training posts, Haku then took out his kunai, shuriken and senbon,

"Hey Haku, where would my weapons be?" Sakura asked, trying to find her own weapons,

"It should be in the front pocket, let me see" Haku said as Sakura let him look,

"Huh, looks like only a few were packed but not much, here, use some of mine" Haku said handing her some of his own weaponry materials,

"Oh um, thanks Haku, that's really nice" Sakura said accepting the weapons, then she thought for a minute and said to Haku,

"What about you?; You pretty much let me borrow half of your weapons", Haku paused a minute then lightly laughed,

"Oh don't worry, I have my ways" he said,

a few seconds later, Haku held out one hand in front of him, the air got a bit cooler around him and ice formed in his hand into quite a few kunai and shuriken,

"See, I can just use ice" Haku said showing the newly formed weapons to Sakura while lightly giggling,

on the other hand, Sakura stared at the ice weapons in amazement and fascination, she had never seen anyone do anything like that, she knew it was an ice style technique but seriously?! Without handsigns?! One thing Sakura knew for sure: Haku was indeed special.

* * *

"Wow Haku! Nice aim!" Sakura cheered, Haku had striked the ice kunai so close near the center,

"What? This? You should really see Suigestu; he's a lot better than me with kunai and shuriken, I'm better with senbon" Haku explained

"You two are lucky; I'm terrible at this" Sakura quietly said

"Your not terrible, you just need practice" Haku encouraged

"Y-You think?" Sakura asked quite timidly, Haku smiled and nodded,

"Come here, I'll show you" Haku said as Sakura came over to him as he instructed her on weapon throwing.

* * *

"Well that was an interesting day!" Suigestu commented as the three walked down the stairs, towards the front main entrance,

"Yeah, I learned a lot of things I didn't learn in Konoha!" Sakura replied

"I am guessing you like learning in the academy, huh Sakura?" Haku asked as Sakura cheerfully nodded, they then exited through the door and outside the building,

"Hey guys let's go! There's Mangestu!" Suigestu yelled and ran towards his brother,

"Hey Sui- Wait!" Sakura yelled as she and Haku followed their white haired friend,

"Hey Sakura, how was your day? And hello to you too Haku" Mangestu greeted from in front of Sakura,

"Oh I like the academy!" Sakura said smiling,

"That's good! Hope you didn't have any trouble with any fangirls, ugh! hate them!" Mangestu said, scrunching his face,

"Y-Yes but Suigestu scared them away" Sakura said as she glanced out the corner of the eye and grabbed the note in her pocket, Mangestu saw this, something was up.

"I'm tired, let's go home~!" Suigestu said slouching over,

"I don't blame you with all that Taijustu training you did" Haku said,

"Alright, let's head home!" Mangestu said, leading the children home.

* * *

"Bye Sakura, Suigestu, Mangestu!"

"Bye Haku, I'll see you tomorrow!"

The Hozuki brothers and Sakura then headed up the stairs of the apartment building, and inside Sakura's apartment, everyone and everything was quiet,

"Hey Suigestu, head home and do your homework then if you finish you can play with Sakura" Mangestu said

"Fine...I'll see you later Sakura!" Suigestu said as he ran out the door, slamming it closed.

"Sakura, I would like to talk to you, come sit on the couch" Mangestu said

"U-Um ok" Sakura said, obeying her "brother's" command, (AN: Mangestu is like her brother figure)

Mangestu also sat down and spoke,

"Did anything you would like to tell me happen at the academy, now that was are alone"

"U-Um no, nothing did" Sakura quietly spoke,

"Anything at all?" Mangestu asked again

"W-Well, I do admit I am missing Konoha but Haku cheered me up, everything is fine" Sakura admitted

"But that isn't it, is it?, you can tell me Sakura" Mangestu pushed on,

"U-Uh um...Well I was t-threatened" Sakura stuttered, prinks of tears appearing in her eyes,

"What happened?" Mangestu asked

"I just opened my text book in sensory class and t-there was a n-note" Sakura said, conflicting with herself whether to show him the note or not, be she did and pulled the crumpled piece of paper out, Mangestu took a look at it, anger clearly shown on his face,

"Who was it?" Mangestu asked after pausing to calm down,

"I-Izumi" Sakura said as she shook and lowered her face, Mangestu lifted the little girl's face back up carefully to see she was now crying, Sakura then hugged the elder Hozuki brother without any hesitation as she cried, she eventually cried herself to sleep.

* * *

It had been a few minutes since Sakura fell asleep, Mangestu now only petted her pink hair, he then yelled

"Suigestu, come inside! I know your there!",

the door opened to see Suigestu, he closed the door then as it was closed he fisted his hands,

"I'll get Izumi for this, for Sakura" Suigestu gritted out,

"No Suigestu, nothing violent to a classmate, I'll report this" Mangestu calmly spoke,

"Oh, but I will warn that witch!" Suigestu said smirking,

"Do that for the both of us, you see little brother, I'm quite angry too" Mangestu said also smirking, he then stood up with Sakura in his arms and walked in her room to lay her down on the bed,

"Suigestu, stay here tonight since I have a mission tomorrow morning, but come, let's do your homework" Mangestu said

"Awwww man!" Suigestu exclaimed as Mangestu laughed quietly.


	5. Homework

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

"Hey! Suigestu~" Sakura cried as she was pulled by her hand to the Academy by Suigestu,

"We need to hurry if we want to be there on time!" Suigestu yelled back,

"T-This is your fault anyways for waking me up late!" Sakura yelled at the young Hozuki as she panted,

"Hehe, well you need to learn to get up on your own!" Suigestu yelled as the two came into a stop in front of the Academy and rushed into their classroom panting.

* * *

Sakura and Suigestu panted as they walked over to their seats and sat down,

"Did you two run a mile before you came?" Haku asked from the end of the row,

"Haha, very funny Haku_-chan_" Suigestu said as he grinned, Haku blushed from embarresment as he fumed,

"I-I am not a girl!" Haku protested,

"Then why are you so sensitive? No wonder your gender confused!" Suigestu teased ever more,

"I-I don't think Haku looks like a girl!" Sakura commented,

"Are you kidding me?! Look at him!" Suigestu yelled,

"H-Haku...-kun, is.. cute" Sakura admitted as she blushed and looked down to cover her face, in the corner of her eye she could see Haku blush too and look away,

"U-Um thank you, Sakura..-chan" Haku said

"Awwww~ Isn't that sweet~" Suigestu teased, the two only blushed more.

Suigestu then looked at the doorway to see Izumi, he had to talk to her.

"You two sweethearts can hang out, I have to do something" Suigestu yelled over to his friends,

"Suigestu!" the two yelled as they blushed so much, they looked like tomatoes with hair and wearing clothes.

* * *

"Hey Izumi!" Suigestu yelled as Izumi looked over towards the voice and smiled (sorta),

_'Suigestu is as cute as Haku, maybe he has noticed me!' _Izumi fangirled inside,

"What is it Suigestu~" Izumi asked smoothly as the Hozuki walking towards her twitched his eye,

"I need to talk to you" Suigestu asked calmly, playing his part,

"So, what did you need to talk to me for?" Izumi asked

"Oh, well..." Suigestu said as he then leaned in towards Izumi's ear and continued,

"If you ever threaten Sakura again or harm her, I will personally make your life miserable" Suigestu whispered darkly, Izumi froze at his cruel words,

Suigestu then pulled back and pulled out a kunai as he grinned, Izumi hesitantly smiled, Suigestu then put the kunai back in his pouch and walked away, back to his seat.

* * *

"Class, instead of classes, all homerooms will practice Ninjustu, Taijustu and Genjustu. Head outside to this class's training spot!" Shinji-sensei announced to the class,

everyone grabbed their bags and headed outside, Sakura was lead there by her two friends seeing she had never seen their class's training ground.

"Here it is Sakura!" Suigestu yelled as he sped past the other classmates,

"Suigestu! Don't worry Sakura-chan, you'll like if not love this part of the Academy" Haku said as he walked down the hill with Sakura.

"So, do you know your element?" Suigestu asked

"Element?" Sakura asked in confusion,

"Never mind, what about controlling chakra?" Suigestu then asked as Sakura nodded,

"Yes, I learned to a few weeks before I left Konoha" Sakura informed,

"Hey! Shinji-sensei!" Suigestu yelled as the sensei ran over,

"What is it Suigestu?" Shinji-sensei asked

"Sakura doesn't know her element but she knows how to control chakra" Suigestu told the teacher, Shinji-sensei took out what looked to be a piece of paper,

"Sakura, I want you to put some chakra into this paper" Shinji-sensei instructed as he handed the paper to Sakura, it took a few minutes but the paper sliced in half,

"Seems you have the Wind element, Suigestu help her train" Shinji said as he then went to attend to other students, Suigestu sighed,

"Come on Sakura" Suigestu said as he dragged her away.

* * *

"For training since you have Wind chakra, gather chakra to your fists and punch the tree, ok?" Suigestu told Sakura as she nodded, he then leaned against the closest tree and watched.

Sakura took a few minutes to gather chakra and softly punched the tree, Sakura never had the guts to punch anyone and didn't do so well in Taijustu,

"No, that won't do, your gathering chakra correctly but your punches are too soft" Suigestu corrected,

Sakura was determined to impress Suigestu, she gathered chakra yet again and punched the tree harder and harder, repeating the process over and over for 10 minutes,

"Good! Your getting better!" Suigestu praised

Sakura practiced for 20 more minutes as Suigestu watched, the tree had a only chipped but that was great for Sakura's standards, the two then walked back to see a crowd, in the center was Haku using his Ice style justus, for the class, this was a treat to see.

"Wow.." Sakura mumbled as she saw Haku make some unusual handsigns as ice formed into shapes,

"Cool isn't it?" Suigestu asked the girl next to him as he grinned, Sakura nodded slowly and kept watching.

* * *

**TIME SKIP!: after the Academy**

* * *

"Well today was a long day" Suigestu said as he yawned, there was only Sakura next to him, Haku said he had to go to the "official" training grounds to train more and Mangestu didn't come to meet the two, Suigestu assumed it was the mission he was talking about last night.

"Yes but I liked training" Sakura commented as she smiled,

"Yeah I guess it was a good day, but I am so hungry!" Suigestu whined

"Did you not eat lunch?, you were gone for lunch" Sakura said

"Aoi-sensei called me in" Suigestu gritted out as he and Sakura heard his stomach growl, Suigestu gave a slight blush and looked away.

"You could come inside my place and have a snack if you want" Sakura offered,

"Thanks but I really should get home, my mom probably made some food already and she has been nagging me to clean my room" Suigestu explained as he sighed, the two stopped at Sakura's apartment building,

"See you Sakura!" Suigestu yelled before sprinting forward to his home,

"Bye Suigestu!" Sakura said back before walking up the stairs, to her apartment and opening the door.

Sakura sighed as she entered the room alone, no one there to say "Welcome home!" or ask "How was today?", but Sakura was used to it after her parents died.

Sakura dropped her bag on the floor, she then traveled over to the refrigerator and took out a container of strawberries, Sakura washed them and placed the berries in a plate before walking over to the couch and sitting down, munching on the strawberries.

* * *

After a few minutes Sakura washed her plate then went back to the couch and began her homework.

She spent over an hour doing her homework, after general studies Sakura came to a stop starting sensory homework.

_'Looks like I'll need a partner for this part' _Sakura thought in frustration. Then there was a knock on the door, Sakura got up from the couch and opened the door to see Haku.

"Um, hello Haku" Sakura greeted,

"Hello Sakura-chan, I wanted to ask if you could be my partner for sensory homework" Haku asked,

"Sure, I was actually just starting on that, come inside" Sakura said as she stepped aside to let her friend through.

"So one of us closes are eyes and stay at the center of the room, while the other moves around to one of the corners, then the person in the middle senses which corner and guesses, after that we switch after 5 turns" Haku explained

"You be in the middle first to try" Haku said as Sakura nodded and walked to the enter of the room and closed her eyes,

"Ten seconds right?" Sakura asked,

"That's right" Haku confirmed,

Sakura counted in her head to ten as she tried sensing Haku, Sakura had never done sensory in Konoha so she wasn't exactly the best at it.

"Corner...3?" Sakura said hesitantly, as she opened her eyes, but instead of corner 3 she found her friend standing in corner 2.

"You were close Sakura-chan, then again you have only done sensory for 2 days" Haku said

"Y-Yeah, let's try again" Sakura said as they redid the process.

* * *

After about 20 minutes, the two finished their homework. Sakura asked Haku if he wanted to stay for a few minutes,

the two were seated on the couch while snacking on crackers.

"This is a nice place, oh! Before I forget we have to get our parents or guardian to sign the bottom of the homework page" Haku said,

"Ok, but Mangestu is out on a mission" Sakura said

"Mangestu? What about your parents?" Haku asked

"They're...dead" Sakura sadly commented

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Sakura-chan!" Haku apologetically said

"It's ok Haku, but what about you?" Sakura asked

"I have a guardian, my parents are also.. gone" Haku informed

"Um sorry" Sakura said hesitantly

"No, it's ok, I guess I could ask Zabuza-san to sign yours too" Haku offered

"Thank you Haku" Sakura said

"It's no problem Sakura-chan, I'll go take our papers to get signed, I'll bring it back in a minute" Haku said as he took his and Sakura's paper, he then walked out the door.

* * *

Five minutes later Haku came back with Sakura's paper signed,

"Here you go Sakura-chan" Haku said, handing his pink haired friend her paper.

"Thank you again Haku" Sakura said with a smile,

"So, are you going to the festival next week?" Haku asked

"I think Suigestu would drag me along anyways, but of course!" Sakura commented as Haku lightly laughed

"Well maybe we can all walk around together I guess" Haku said as Sakura nodded

"I- uh, guess I will go back home, It's getting dark" Haku decided as Sakura escorted him to the door.

"Well goodnight Haku" Sakura said

"Goodnight Sakura-chan, thanks for helping me with homework" Haku thanked,

"Oh it's no-" Sakura started but was cut off by Haku hugging her,

"No it really was a lot of help, let's hang out some time" Haku said as he pulled back to see a blushing Sakura,

"U-Uh s-sure" Sakura said, Haku smiled and walked out of the apartment.

"Bye Sakura-chan" Haku said as he walked away, Sakura then closed the door and went to bed with a smile on her face.


	6. We are a TEAM!

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

A few months later

Sakura, Haku and Suigestu were walking down the streets of Kirigakure, it had been a few months since Sakura had joined the Mist village and the academy, so far she was doing very well with her friends, at home and the academy. She had even grown more confidence and self esteem of herself.

"So Haku, I hope you graduate this year" Suigestu said,

"I-uh hope so, I guess. I just don't want to leave you and Sakura all alone, I want you both to graduate too." Haku stated, Suigestu sighed,

"Honestly ice boy, you need to think about yourself for once" Suigestu lectured,

"Hehe, I just can't help it" Haku said,

"Wait, what?" Sakura asked in confusion,

"Graduation is going to be in like, 4 months from now, and so far Haku has the highest chance of graduating" Suigestu explained,

"Oh, I see" Sakura said,

"I want all of us to graduate together, wouldn't be more fun?" Haku commented as his friends nodded.

* * *

Two days later on Monday, it was time to take the exams to pass the academy and officially become a shinobi of Kirigakure.

Sakura, Haku and Suigestu stood outside along with their classmates, and others in different classes,

"You ready for this guys?" Suigestu asked as he motivately stretched his arms,

"Never been more ready Sui!" Sakura answered as the black haired boy beside her just nodded.

"Jeez Haku_-chan, _don't you have any motivation to become a ninja?!" Suigestu teased,

"Yes. But I am confident I will do well on the test, unlike you who missed last years chance to be a ninja already!" Haku said

"It's not my fault my idiot of a brother got sick, me having to take care of him, not getting any sleep and having the exam the next day!" Suigestu shouted,

"Suigestu, with as much energy as you have, you would last for days even without sleep.." Haku stated,

"Why you!...Ha-!" Suigestu gritted through his teeth,

"Suigestu Hozuki!" the teacher yelled as Suigestu glared at Haku and marched away to the middle of the field to take the test.

* * *

"Sakura Haruno!" the teacher yelled as he was done testing Suigestu,

"Good luck, Sakura-chan" Haku said as he smiled, Sakura nodded giving a nervous smile and walking away to the field.

"First part of the test is Kunai throwing, take out and throw 5 kunai with the best shots you can give" the teacher explained as Sakura then nodded and took out the kunai,

she positioned her body as she aimed the kunai, the flung the kunai towards the target, she made it to the second ring to the bullseye.

Sakura used the other kunai and made a passing grade for that part, she held a slip of paper with a 3 out of 5 score with the teacher's signature , now next would be combat.

* * *

In front of Sakura was a clone of the teacher was conducting this part of the test, the clone moved forward to strike, Sakura sprinted to the side and kicked the clone on the knee, smoke appeared around the clone, Sakura thought the clone disappeared,

_'Thank you Sui for training with me~' _Sakura innerly praised.

when the smoke cleared enough for Sakura to see, she saw only a log,

_'A substitution!' _Sakura exclaimed,

behind her the clone appeared, Sakura punched the clone, the clone held a tight hold on her wrist, Sakura gave a hard kick in the stomach as the clone disappeared with a puff.

Sakura then walked up to the teacher and bowed, the teacher nodded and handed her a slip of again 3 out of 5.

* * *

"In this part of the exam, you are to demonstrate a Ninjustu technique, you have 10 minutes" the teacher said,

Sakura gulped in nervousness, she had not perfected the technique Suigestu showed her, but to pass with her friends she'd give it her all!

Sakura walked up to a tree as the teacher watched, the cherry blossom positioned her fist in from of the tree, gathering chakra in her fist, before puling it back and striking the tree, Sakura dented the tree, the shape of her fist but made a very deep hole in the tree,

it seems when Sakura punched the tree, her wind type chakra deepened the punch.

Sakura once again bowed to the teacher before taking the score sheet of 4 out of 5, Sakura smiled and ran to find her friends.

* * *

"Suigestu! Haku-kun!" Sakura yelled as she ran over to her friends, she held up her sheets smiling, as they did too, Haku got a 5, 4 then a 5, Suigestu earned a triple 4.

"Wow, Haku-kun, your scores are amazing!" Sakura praised,

"Sakura-chan.." Haku mumbled as he blushed, looking away,

"Hey! What about me!..Why does the ice prince always gets the attention~" Suigestu whined,

"Come on Sui, yours are pretty impression too!" Sakura said as Suigestu grinned,

"Come on! Let's go get our headbands!" Suigestu said, dragging the other two.

* * *

"Oh my god!.. Sakura. You are so cute in your headband!" Suigestu exclaimed as Sakura looked away blushing,

"Sui~ Stop teasing me!" Sakura protested as she adjusted her headband on the top of her head,

"Hey guys, how does this look?" A voice called to be Haku,

Sakura looked at Haku, his headband on made her blush,

"Uh yeah Haku-kun, it's great!" Sakura said still blushing,

"Tch! nothing that special!" Suigestu grunted out,

"Come on, let's get home!" Sakura yelled running down the road,

"Hey! Wait up!" the other two yelled, running off too.

* * *

"You all passed! Now I have a surprise~" Mangestu told the three,

"Oh come on Nii-san, what good could you do?!" Suigestu brushed off, laying back on the couch in Sakura's home,

"Ah! Ah! It's "Sensei" to you three now" Mangestu said smirking

"...What." Suigestu asked as Haku and Sakura gave the same expression of confusion,

"Yup! I will be your squad leader from now on!" Mangestu said grinning,

"WHAT?!" The three yelled in shock,

"Annnndddd~.. you three are on the same squad, I asked a favor!" Mangestu also presented,

"Yes! Now something good comes of this talk!" Suigestu exclaimed, slapping hands with Haku and hugging Sakura,

"Yes! We are a team!" Sakura yelled as she and the rest of her guests started laughing.


	7. Haku's tears

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

Since the three pasted just yesterday, Mangestu let the three take a day off to celebrate, Sakura walked down the stairs of the building, on the bottom floor, Sakura heard sobbing coming from Haku's apartment,

Sakura stopped as listened for a minute to Haku's sobs,

"Haku.." Sakura quietly called as she lightly knocked, Haku sniffled a little before replying,

"..Y-Yes.."

"Could I...Come in...?" Sakura asked quietly asked, the nob of the door turned a couple minutes later, the door then opened as Sakura stepped in.

* * *

"Haku?" Sakura asked as the door closed, to reveal Haku,

his bangs fell over his face, Sakura could still see tear stains glistening on his face,

"Haku, what's wrong?" Sakura asked as she drew closer to him, Haku started to silently cry as she backed away and slid down, against the wall, Haku brought his knees to his chest, quietly sobbing.

"...M-Master Zab-buza...left...me..." Haku answered as he cry slightly louder,

"Haku.." Sakura mumbled, sitting down on the floor next to him, she put a hand on his shoulder and moved closer, Haku quickly clung to Sakura, crying louder and louder, his head laying against her shoulder.

* * *

10 minutes later, Haku calmed down, he lifted his head up and rubbed his swollen red eyes, he then stood up, with Sakura also standing up,

"Thanks.. Sakura-chan.." Haku mumbled as a last lone tear streaked down the boy's face,

then Sakura went and hugged Haku,

"Haku-kun...you can tell me anything, anytime...we're teammate too now, aren't we?" Sakura said as Haku nodded, Sakura then let go.

"So.. what happened?" Sakura asked,

"Master Zabuza, he.. he was gone this morning, with his stuff gone, he left a note saying he changed my mind and didn't need me anymore, and that he was leaving..." Haku explained with a sad expression,

"Haku..." Sakura whispered

"But don't worry.. I have you guys too right?" Haku said as gave a light smile,

"Yeah.. you're right, and if someone leaves you because they say they don't need you, then it's their loss!" Sakura said and Haku giggled,

"Yeah, if you say so, I guess" then Haku said

"Thank you Sakura-chan, it means a lot to me to know you care about me"

"Of course I care Haku-kun! Now let's go cheer you up with some frozen yogurt or something!" Sakura yelled, running out the front door,

"Hey, Sakura-chan!, wait up~!" Haku yelled, rushing to put on his headband.


End file.
